# kb

id: political-animals-and-animal-politics-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_Animals_and_Animal_Politics-3.md
category: reference
title: Political Animals and Animal Politics
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_Animals_and_Animal_Politics
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:40:47.722065+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: political-animals-and-animal-politics-20260505-0
summary:
"The Rights of Nature: Theory and Practice", Mihnea Tanasescu Tanasescu explores the idea of rights for nature, an idea that, though unorthodox, has seen success in implementation. He introduces the concept, with a focus on the differences between moral and legal rights, before examining the particular case of Ecuador's entrenchment of rights for nature in its 2008 constitution, which is compared with other real-world cases. He finally addresses what can be learnt from these theoretical and practical considerations. He concludes that much work on the topic is left to be done, but the key lesson to be learnt is the significance of innovation; environmental politics, he claims, should remain both inventive and optimistic. == Academic reception == Political Animals and Animal Politics was reviewed by Garner for Environmental Values, and the philosophers Jeremy David Bendik-Keymer, Josh Milburn, and Dan Hooley for Environmental Ethics, the Political Studies Review and the Journal of Animal Ethics respectively. Garner lamented the absence of many of the key voices in the political theory literature on animal ethics—such as Cochrane, Donaldson and Kymlicka, O'Sullivan, Tony Milligan, Kimberly Smith or Garner himself—in the book, meaning that Political Animals and Animal Politics "takes on the role of an


id: the-population-bomb-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Population_Bomb-0.md
category: reference
title: The Population Bomb
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Population_Bomb
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:40:48.969534+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-population-bomb-20260505-0
summary:
The Population Bomb is a 1968 book co-authored by former Stanford University professor Paul R. Ehrlich and former Stanford senior researcher in conservation biology Anne H. Ehrlich. From the opening page, it predicted worldwide famines due to overpopulation, as well as other major societal upheavals, and advocated immediate action to limit population growth. Fears of a "population explosion" existed in the mid-20th century baby boom years, but the book and its authors brought the idea to an even wider audience. The book has been criticized since its publication for an alarmist tone, and over the subsequent decades, for inaccurate assertions and failed predictions. For instance, regional famines have occurred since the publication of the book, but not world famines. The Ehrlichs themselves continued to stand by the book despite the flaws identified by its critics, with Paul stating in 2009 that "perhaps the most serious flaw in The Bomb was that it was much too optimistic about the future," despite having predicted catastrophic global famines that never came to pass. They believe that it achieved their goals because "it alerted people to the importance of environmental issues and brought human numbers into the debate on the human future." Others have


id: the-population-bomb-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Population_Bomb-1.md
category: reference
title: The Population Bomb
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Population_Bomb
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:40:48.969534+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-population-bomb-20260505-0
summary:
=== Possible solutions === Paul and Anne Ehrlich described a number of "ideas on how these goals might be reached." They believed that the United States should take a leading role in population control, both because it was already consuming much more than the rest of the world, and therefore had a moral duty to reduce its impact, and because the US would have to lead international efforts due to its prominence in the world, in order to avoid charges of hypocrisy or racism it would have to take the lead in population reduction efforts. The Ehrlichs float the idea of adding "temporary sterilants" to the water supply or staple foods. However, they reject the idea as unpractical due to "criminal inadequacy of biomedical research in this area." They suggest a tax scheme in which additional children would add to a family's tax burden at increasing rates for more children, as well as luxury taxes on childcare goods. They suggest incentives for men who agree to permanent sterilization before they have two children, as well as a variety of other monetary incentives. They propose a powerful Department of Population and Environment which "should be set up with the power to


id: the-population-bomb-20260505-2
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Population_Bomb-2.md
category: reference
title: The Population Bomb
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Population_Bomb
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:40:48.969534+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-population-bomb-20260505-0
summary:
=== Restatement of Malthusian theory === The Population Bomb has been characterized by critics as primarily a repetition of the Malthusian catastrophe argument that population growth will outpace agricultural growth unless controlled. Ehrlich observed that since about 1930 the population of the world had doubled within a single generation, from 2 billion to nearly 4 billion, and was on track to do so again. He assumed that available resources on the other hand, and in particular food, were nearly at their limits. Some critics compare Ehrlich unfavorably to Malthus, saying that although Thomas Malthus did not make a firm prediction of imminent catastrophe, Ehrlich warned of a potential massive disaster within the next decade or two. In addition, critics state that unlike Malthus, Ehrlich did not see any means of avoiding the disaster entirely (although some mitigation was possible), and proposed solutions that were much more radical than those discussed by Malthus, such as starving whole countries that refused to implement population control measures. Ehrlich was certainly not unique in his neo-Malthusian predictions, and there was a widespread belief in the 1960s and 70s that increasingly catastrophic famines were on their way. === Predictions === The Ehrlichs made a number


id: the-population-bomb-20260505-3
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Population_Bomb-3.md
category: reference
title: The Population Bomb
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Population_Bomb
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:40:48.969534+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-population-bomb-20260505-0
summary:
=== Persistence of trends === Economist Julian Simon and medical statistician Hans Rosling pointed out that the failed prediction of 70s famines were based exclusively on the assumption that exponential population growth will continue indefinitely and no technological or social progress will be made. In The Ultimate Resource Simon argued that resources, such as metals, which Ehrlichs extensively discuss in their books as examples of non-sustainable resources, are valued exclusively for the function they provide, and technological progress frequently replaces these: for example, copper was largely replaced by fiber optic in communications, and carbon fiber replaced a wide range of alloys and steel in construction (see Simon-Ehrlich wager and The Ultimate Resource). Simon also argued that technological progress tends to happen in large steps rather than linear growth, as happened with the Green Revolution. Hans Rosling in his book Factfulness demonstrated that fertility rate has significantly decreased worldwide and, more importantly, high fertility is a natural response to high mortality in low-income countries and once they enter higher income group, fertility drops quickly. According to environmentalist Stewart Brand, himself a student and friend of Ehrlich, the assumption made by the latter and by authors of The Limits to Growth has


id: the-population-bomb-20260505-4
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Population_Bomb-4.md
category: reference
title: The Population Bomb
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Population_Bomb
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:40:48.969534+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-population-bomb-20260505-0
summary:
the biggest tactical error in The Bomb was the use of scenarios, stories designed to help one think about the future. Although we clearly stated that they were not predictions and that “we can be sure that none of them will come true as stated,’ (p. 72)—their failure to occur is often cited as a failure of prediction. In honesty, the scenarios were way off, especially in their timing (we underestimated the resilience of the world system). But they did deal with future issues that people in 1968 should have been thinking about – famines, plagues, water shortages, armed international interventions by the United States, and nuclear winter (e.g., Ehrlich et al. 1983, Toon et al. 2007)—all events that have occurred or now still threatenIn a 2018 interview with The Guardian, Ehrlich, while still proud of The Population Bomb for starting a worldwide debate on the issues of population, acknowledged weaknesses of the book including not placing enough emphasis on climate change, overconsumption and inequality, and countering accusations of racism. He argues "too many rich people in the world is a major threat to the human future, and cultural and genetic diversity are great human resources." He advocated for an


id: power-justice-and-the-environment-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power,_Justice,_and_the_Environment-0.md
category: reference
title: Power, Justice, and the Environment
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power,_Justice,_and_the_Environment
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:40:50.154728+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: power-justice-and-the-environment-20260505-0
summary:
Power, Justice, and the Environment: A Critical Appraisal of the Environmental Justice Movement is a book edited by David Pellow and Robert Brulle. The impetus for the book came from presentations at the 2002 Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association in Chicago. Divided into three parts, (Environmental Equity and Justice, New Strategies for Achieving Environmental Justice, and Environmental Justice and the Challenges of Globalization), the editors curate a collection of essays by academics, environmental practitioners, and advocates that critique strategies, tactics, organizational structures, and governance in the environmental justice movement, and pose questions about where the movement has been and where it may go. == References ==


id: power-profit-and-protest-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power,_Profit_and_Protest-0.md
category: reference
title: Power, Profit and Protest
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power,_Profit_and_Protest
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:40:51.291452+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: power-profit-and-protest-20260505-0
summary:
Power, Profit and Protest: Australian Social Movements and Globalisation is a 2003 book by Verity Burgmann. The book was originally published in 1993, and the 2003 edition is substantially expanded. It contains a new chapter on "social movements and social change", and another on the "anti-corporate globalisation movement". There is a new concluding chapter on globalisation as the "cancer stage of capitalism". Cathie Jensen-Lee writes "This book provides an interesting and thoughtful analysis of several movements for change in Australian society; namely the Aboriginal movement, the women's movement, the green movement and the anti-capitalist/anti-corporate globalisation movements." == See also == Tasmania's Wilderness Battles == References == == External links == Power, profit and protest : Australian social movements and globalisation / Verity Burgmann - Details - Trove Informit - Labour History - Verity Burgmann, Power, Profit and Protest : Australian Social Movements and Globalisation [Book Review] (Business Collection) O'Hara on Burgmann Power, profit and protest Fighting for the Forests. Ron Chapman (PhD) 2008, p18. (in research) The workers' flag is deepest green. Jeff Sparrow. Seminar, Australian National University, October 2004. (in teaching) David Sprigg (in social policy research)


id: prosperity-without-growth-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosperity_Without_Growth-0.md
category: reference
title: Prosperity Without Growth
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosperity_Without_Growth
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:40:52.454462+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: prosperity-without-growth-20260505-0
summary:
Prosperity Without Growth is a book by author and economist Tim Jackson. It was originally released as a report by the Sustainable Development Commission. The study rapidly became the most downloaded report in the Commission's nine-year history when published in 2009. Later that year, the report was reworked and published as a book by Earthscan. A revised and expanded edition (Prosperity Without Growth: Foundations for the Economy of Tomorrow) was published in January 2017. == Description == By arguing that "prosperity – in any meaningful sense of the word – transcends material concerns," the book summarizes the evidence showing that, beyond a certain point, growth does not increase human well-being. Prosperity without Growth analyses the complex relationships between economic growth, environmental crises, and social recession. It proposes a route to a sustainable economy and argues for a redefinition of "prosperity" in light of the evidence on what contributes to people’s well-being. The second edition expands on these ideas and sets out the framework for what he calls "the economy of tomorrow." By attending to the nature of enterprise as a form of social organisation, the meaning of work as participation in society, the function of investment as a commitment to


id: pumpkin-the-curious-history-of-an-american-icon-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin:_The_Curious_History_of_an_American_Icon-0.md
category: reference
title: Pumpkin: The Curious History of an American Icon
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumpkin:_The_Curious_History_of_an_American_Icon
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:40:53.636215+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: pumpkin-the-curious-history-of-an-american-icon-20260505-0
summary:
Pumpkin: The Curious History of an American Icon is a 2012 book by Cindy Ott. The author follows the history of the pumpkin, from Native American diet staple, to food for peasants, feed for livestock, and now as the symbol of autumn and a multi-million dollar industry. Once considered a desperate substitute to use in beer and bread, only in the absence of barley and wheat, the pumpkin's popularity grew out the romantic nostalgia of rural residents turned city-dwellers, and its commercialization has now reached unprecedented heights. Ott traces the shifting status of the pumpkin in American culture. The author goes as far as to paint the pumpkin as a cultural icon that helped forge a uniquely American identity. == References == == External links == Pumpkin history online exhibition


id: questioning-collapse-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Questioning_Collapse-0.md
category: reference
title: Questioning Collapse
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Questioning_Collapse
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:40:54.801036+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: questioning-collapse-20260505-0
summary:
Questioning Collapse: Human Resilience, Ecological Vulnerability, and the Aftermath of Empire is a 2009 non-fiction book compiled by editors Patricia A. McAnany and Norman Yoffee that features a series of eleven essays from fifteen authors discussing how societies have developed, evolved, and whether they have or have not collapsed throughout history, with a focus on how ancient and contemporary societies have advanced to the current global society and issues being faced in modern times. The collection of essays acts as a direct critique in the collective title and subject matter of Jared Diamond's book Collapse and, to a lesser extent, Guns, Germs, and Steel. Begun as a concept at a 2006 special meeting of the American Anthropological Association, the book was further constructed after individual presentations at an October 2007 meeting of archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, and historians in order to address each of the societies and locations brought up by Diamond in his books. These authors showcased how each society did not collapse, but merely changed culturally, politically, or geographically into a new form that followed chronologically with the same traditions and systems, focusing on the concept of resilience has kept together the same cultures even to modern day. This


id: questioning-collapse-20260505-1
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Questioning_Collapse-1.md
category: reference
title: Questioning Collapse
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Questioning_Collapse
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:40:54.801036+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: questioning-collapse-20260505-0
summary:
== Critical reception == Pacific Affairs reviewer James L. Flexner praised Questioning Collapse for its critical analysis of Diamond's works and debunking not of minor details, but of broad claims made in his works. Flexner notes that the essays are able to get across the idea that "transformation is likely the one inevitable factor in history" and instead of "tragic catastrophe and destruction", it is the perspective that "these processes, while sometimes accompanied by violent upheaval, usually reflect more of the resilience and adaptability of dynamic human cultures" that matters. In a review for the Journal of Cultural Geography, Ryan D. Bergstrom concluded that, while the book has successfully added to knowledge and understanding on the topic of societal collapses, the "truth of how and why societies collapse is likely found somewhere between the arguments made in this book and those of Diamond’s", but adds that those in the field of cultural geography would "applaud the truth-seeking process" and find the information useful. Writing for Transforming Anthropology, Luis Silva Barros complimented the book's explanation and use of the "process" view of societal development and collapse, as compared to Diamond's "results" view, suggesting that the book would be a "very useful


id: reaction-time-book-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaction_Time_(book)-0.md
category: reference
title: Reaction Time (book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reaction_Time_(book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:40:55.965950+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: reaction-time-book-20260505-0
summary:
Reaction Time: Climate Change and the Nuclear Option is a 2007 book by Professor Ian Lowe The book is about energy policy. == Themes == In his book he says: "the nuclear option does not make sense on any level: economically, environmentally, politically or socially. It is too costly, too dangerous, too slow and has too small an impact on global warming." == Quote == "Promoting nuclear power as the solution to climate change is like advocating smoking as a cure for obesity. That is, taking up the nuclear option will make it much more difficult to move to the sort of sustainable, ecologically healthy future that should be our goal." == See also == Anti-nuclear movement in Australia List of books about nuclear issues Renewable energy commercialization List of Australian environmental books Quarterly Essay == References == == External links == Is nuclear the answer?


id: the-real-global-warming-disaster-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Real_Global_Warming_Disaster-0.md
category: reference
title: The Real Global Warming Disaster
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Real_Global_Warming_Disaster
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:40:57.142066+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: the-real-global-warming-disaster-20260505-0
summary:
The Real Global Warming Disaster (Is the Obsession with 'Climate Change' Turning Out to Be the Most Costly Scientific Blunder in History?) is a 2009 book by English journalist and author Christopher Booker in which he asserts that global warming cannot be attributed to humans, and then alleges how the scientific opinion on climate change was formulated. From a standpoint of environmental scepticism, Booker seeks to combine an analysis of the science of global warming with the consequences of political decisions to reduce CO2 emissions and claims that, as governments prepare to make radical changes in energy policies, the scientific evidence for global warming is becoming increasingly challenged. He asserts that global warming is not supported by a significant number of climate scientists, and criticises how the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) presents evidence and data, in particular citing its reliance on potentially inaccurate global climate models to make temperature projections. Booker concludes, "it begins to look very possible that the nightmare vision of our planet being doomed" may be imaginary, and that, if so, "it will turn out to be one of the most expensive, destructive, and foolish mistakes the human race has ever made". The book's


id: red-sky-at-morning-speth-book-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Sky_at_Morning_(Speth_book)-0.md
category: reference
title: Red Sky at Morning (Speth book)
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Sky_at_Morning_(Speth_book)
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:40:58.336034+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: red-sky-at-morning-speth-book-20260505-0
summary:
Red Sky at Morning: America and the Crisis of the Global Environment by James Gustave Speth, is a 2004 Yale University Press book whose central premise is that environmentalism, so far, has been unsuccessful in protecting the natural environment on Earth. Deprecating the past efficacy of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and the United Nations Development Programme — as well as the actions of the former George W. Bush administration – Speth writes (as cited in the TIME article listed in the "References" section): "The climate convention is not protecting climate, the biodiversity convention is not protecting biodiversity, [and] the desertification convention is not preventing desertification." Potential for effective environmentalism, he says (as cited in the TIME article) now rests upon actions analogous to "jazz": volunteerism, and improvisation. He also notes, "Since the Montreal Protocol, [the United States] has not accorded global-scale environmental challenges the priority needed." (p.116) == References == Red Sky at Morning: America and the Crisis of the Global Environment. A Citizen's Agenda for Action, James Gustave Speth. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2004, ISBN 0-300-10232-1 "Books: Storm Warnings Ahead." Linden, Eugene (2004, April 5). TIME, Vol. 163


id: reflections-in-bullough-s-pond-20260505-0
file: data/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflections_in_Bullough's_Pond-0.md
category: reference
title: Reflections in Bullough's Pond
tags: science, encyclopedia
source_url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflections_in_Bullough's_Pond
date_saved: 2026-05-05T08:40:59.457703+00:00
instance: kb-cron
parent: reflections-in-bullough-s-pond-20260505-0
summary:
Reflections in Bullough's Pond: Economy and Ecosystem in New England is a book by Diana Muir, published in 2000. Providence Journal called Bullough’s Pond "a masterpiece", and Publishers Weekly called it "lyrical". The Massachusetts Center for the Book awarded it the 2001 Massachusetts Book Award, for the author's "engaging and accomplished storytelling". == Thesis == Muir makes a complex, Malthusian argument for the origin of an industrial revolution in New England independent of the English industrial revolution. Demonstrating that the economic model of colonial New England was large families of children on small-hold farms, producing sufficient wealth not only to live comfortably but to enable all of the children to purchase farms, she argues that a crunch point was reached when cheap, unsettled land ceased to be available. Focusing on the decades following 1790, she argues that families had accumulated wealth to set their children up on farms, but that land was not available until after the federal government broke the armed strength of Tecumseh in the Ohio country. During that twenty-year period, she demonstrates the development of numerous innovative techniques in the early stages of Interchangeable parts manufacturing and precision tool manufacturing, the aspects of industrialization in which southern


